Pennsylvania law places certain serious offenses involving juveniles age 15 or older and deadly weapons initially in adult criminal court.
CLAIRTON, Pa. — The prosecution of a 15-year-old girl accused of firing a rifle toward two juveniles in Clairton is proceeding in adult criminal court, a result that reflects Pennsylvania’s rules for some serious offenses allegedly committed by older juveniles with deadly weapons.
Allegheny County police charged Euveaya Fuqua with two counts of attempted homicide and other offenses after a Friday afternoon shooting. Investigators allege Fuqua fired an AR-style rifle as two juveniles fled toward a nearby home. Neither was struck. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Act excludes certain conduct from the legal definition of a delinquent act when the accused was at least 15 at the time and a deadly weapon was allegedly used. The listed conduct includes an attempt to commit murder. When those requirements apply, the case begins under criminal law rather than through the ordinary juvenile delinquency process.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court discussed that framework in a 2026 decision involving a different juvenile defendant. The court noted that attempted murder is among the serious offenses excluded from the definition of a delinquent act under state law when the statutory requirements are met. That framework generally gives the adult criminal division initial jurisdiction.
Starting a case in adult court does not by itself establish guilt, nor does it necessarily determine where the case will ultimately remain. Pennsylvania law provides a process through which a juvenile whose case begins in criminal court may seek to have it transferred to juvenile court. Whether Fuqua will seek such a transfer had not been publicly established in the reporting available Sunday.
The charges against Fuqua followed an investigation into gunfire heard in Clairton shortly after 2 p.m. Friday. Court records described by local news outlets say a witness encountered Fuqua and another juvenile near a home and reported seeing Fuqua with a rifle. The witness said she and another person ran as the confrontation escalated and then heard gunfire.
Investigators said a nearby house was struck and that 17 spent rifle rounds were recovered from the area. Police later recovered a loaded AR-style rifle from a trash can. Another juvenile was reportedly seen with the firearm during part of the police response and ran away, according to court records.
A witness also told investigators she saw Fuqua holding the rifle outside a house and that its barrel appeared to be smoking. Police have treated that statement and other witness accounts as part of the evidence supporting the charges. A court has not yet determined whether those allegations are true.
Fuqua also faces assault-related, reckless endangerment and firearms charges, according to online court information reported by WPXI. Records cited by the station indicate she was denied bail and was being held in the Allegheny County Jail.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 16. Such a hearing is an early stage of the criminal process and does not decide guilt. No conviction has been entered, and authorities had not publicly announced a resolution of the charges or any transfer request as of Sunday.
Author note: Last updated September 6, 2026.